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Sunday, July 26, 2015

'Five men trafficked 13-year-old runaway between hotels and flats in Bradford so they could take it in turns to abuse her'

Five men alleged to have coerced youngster into having sex with them

Girl had just turned 13 when she was 'befriended' by men in Sheffield

One man said to have described her as 'gorgeous' and 'a nice, beautiful girl'

Five men have gone on trial accused of trafficking a 13-year-old girl and taking it in turns to abuse her after she ran away from home.

The girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was allegedly told she was a 'nice, beautiful girl' before being coerced into having sex with the men in hotel rooms and private flats in August last year.

A jury heard how Mohammed Shapal, 22, and Shakeal Rehman, 26, from Bradford, West Yorkshire, and Usman Ali, 21, Bekir Rasheed, 36, and Yaseen Amini, 36, from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, arranged her travel before abusing her.

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Court appearance: Shakeal Rehman, 26, from Bradford, pictured left, and Usman Ali, 21, right, from Sheffield, are on trial at Sheffield Crown Court where they are accused of abusing a 13-year-old girl

Thomas Storey, prosecuting, told Sheffield Crown Court that the girl had only just turned 13 when she took a bus from her hometown of Sheffield to Bradford, where she was befriended by a group of men.

Mr Storey said Rehman and Shapal picked the girl up in the centre of the city.

'After driving around with her for a while they took her to a hotel for the night with the intention of some sexual activity taking place,' said the prosecutor.

'Once she was at the hotel she was raped by Rehman.

'He forced himself upon her, holding her down.

'He left the room and was replaced a little later by Shapal, who spent the night with her.

'During the night he too entered into sexual activity with her.

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Five men, including Bekir Rasheed, 36, from Sheffield, left, and Yaseen Amini, 36, also from Sheffield, right, are accused of abusing a girl aged 13 in hotel rooms and private flats in August last year

'The next day, having been abandoned, she was picked up by Ali in his car. He drove her a short distance before he too had sexual intercourse with her in his vehicle.

'A number of days later she was taken by Rasheed to a party at Amini's home. It must have been clear to them that some sexual activity was going to take place.'

Addressing the jury, Mr Storey said: 'This case is about child sexual exploitation of a 13-year-old girl by these five defendants and others, in the summer of last year.

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The court heard that Mohammed Shapal, 22, from Bradford, met the 13-year-old in Sheffield city centre and had told her she was 'gorgeous' and 'a nice, beautiful girl'

'Last summer a young girl ran away from home in Sheffield, at the time she had only just had her thirteenth birthday.

'There was an extensive police search but she was found a week or so later in Bradford.'

The court heard that when the girl was interviewed by police, she worried about getting into trouble, and was embarrassed to disclose embarrassing information to adults she had never met before.

The jury was told at the outset of the trial that when the girl got to Bradford, she fell into conversation with a man she had never met before, called 'Shaz'.

The man is currently wanted by police for questioning about the exploitation.

The girl was then allegedly taken to his home in Bradford and spent two nights there.

While she was there he allegedly had sexual intercourse with her and he slapped her when she knocked over a drink.

Mr Storey said the girl spent a little while wandering around Bradford after being dropped off by 'Shaz', and was followed by some other boys.

The prosecutor said it was at this point when a silver VW Golf pulled up, being driven by Rehman, with Shapal as a passenger.

'He told her he was called Baby,' said Mr Storey.

'They said they wanted to help her so she sat on the backseat and told them her name.

'Rehman kissed her and told her that he loved her, and this no doubt made an impression on a vulnerable young girl.'

The court heard the girl was taken to a hotel in Bradford, where Rehman booked a £40 room.

That night, after the girl had been left alone, Rehman allegedly returned and knocked on the door, before she let him in.

Mr Storey said: 'He pushed her on to the bed and kissed her and touched her.

'He took off his top and removed her clothes.

'He held her around the neck so she could not breathe and raped her.

'She told him that she was just 13 years old.'

Rehman then left the hotel, before Shapal returned, the court heard.

He described her as 'gorgeous' and 'a nice, beautiful girl', and despite her telling him she was too young, it 'didn't seem to bother him'.

The girl told police that 'he had not abused her and beaten her up,' and that he 'was not rude to her'.

Shapal returned to go to mosque, telling her he would be back, but he never returned to the hotel.